Next Time
by cifan
Summary: At least last time they said 'until next time'. No more pretenses. Follow up to Off the Wagon.


**This is a sequel to Off the Wagon. It takes place about 2 months later. Yup, here they go again…**

**This is rated M.**

**Disclaimer: I only like to have my way with these characters. I don't own them, and I'm sure they're very happy about that.**

**Enjoy ~**

--

Alex reached for her phone without opening her eyes. "Eames," she tried her best not to sound like she was sleeping.

"You were sleeping, sorry," he wasn't really.

"Yeah well, that's what most people do at," she pulled the phone away from her ear, squinted at the screen, then held it to the side of her face again, "Three-fifteen a.m."

"Oh, yeah…didn't realize the time."

She noticed he fumbled over his words, then she picked up on the background noise. He was outside. "You're not home, are you."

"Nope."

She waited for him to continue but he didn't. She let the silence hang there, hoping to get more out of him. He won the battle, she had to ask, "then where are you."

"Walking…around…you're block."

Something that felt like a jolt of electricity passed through Alex. She felt herself become restless; her feet needed to move. She was on her side rubbing her legs together as she fantasized about what Bobby could be doing to her. Eventually, her whole body was unable to sit still and she turned onto her belly.

"Are you still here, Alex?"

That's when she heard it in his voice. Desire. _This can't keep happening_. She tried to diffuse the situation, "Bobby…why right now? Where've you been?"

She heard his breathing, it was uneven like hers. "I've been sitting in a bar… thinking about you and what tomorrow…well, today…is."

She stopped a minute to figure out what he was talking about, "What's the big deal about tomorrow?"

"It's Valentine's Day." Alex nodded in remembrance as he spoke, "And, if you recall, after I so enjoyed that nice," he cleared his throat in an effort stay focused, "sexy green number you had on that night we shared before Christmas, you told me to 'wait till I see what you have for Valentine's Day'."

Alex sighed, remembering that night. She rolled onto her back and thought about her next move, "So why now…why not tomorrow night?"

Bobby didn't answer her right away, and when he did he stammered quite a bit, "um, uh, well, it's jus -" Alex sat straight up in bed, she thought she felt her heart stop for a second, "Do you have a date tomorrow night, Bobby?"

"Um"

"Get the fuck in here." She slammed the phone down and jumped out of bed. Her immediate reaction was to be angry. But even in the few steps it took to get from her room to the front door, she realized she couldn't be mad at him for having a date. He had every right to have one. That's when she realized it wasn't anger but overwhelming jealousy that was really tearing her apart. And in a split second, she knew she didn't have a right to feel that as well. She leaned against the wall and took a few deep breaths as she stood in her entrance hall.

--

He was already at her door when she unlocked it. Opening the door wide for him, he watched her retreat to her kitchen and when he hesitantly appeared in it's doorway, he found her pacing.

"I'm sorry, Alex." He slowly removed his jacket and laid it over the back of a chair.

"No, don't be. You have no reason to apologize to me. I'm the one who is sorry that I swore at you…I know I don't have any right to be upset that you have a date on Valentine's Day."

"I can explain."

"No! Please don't do this," she saw him approaching her and she backed up, "I don't want or deserve an explanation."

"Well, what if I need to give you one." As he got closer he ducked his head a little to keep eye contact.

Her butt reached the counter, she put her hands on it's edge. He stopped in front of her, but didn't touch her. He saw her chest rising and falling rapidly, he was sure his heart and hers were keeping perfect time.

"Someone asked me out. I accepted," now he put one hand on her waist, "but I don't want to go out with her…I want..." Alex put her head down so he raised his other hand to her chin and lifted it up to face him. She closed her eyes, so he leaned down and kissed one eyelid and then the other. Whispering, "Please don't shut me out… listen to what I want to say to you." Alex shook her head, "Don't," she whispered back.

He ignored her, "I accepted the invitation because I know we shouldn't be together again. I thought it was the right thing to do, to move past what we've done…but then, I couldn't get you out of my head, I can't get us out of my head."

Alex imagined him on his date. She felt her heart rip apart, she didn't want to think of him giving his attention to anyone else. But at the same time, she couldn't say anything. She felt sick to her stomach. She also thought he might be there to get a read on her; to validate his own feelings by figuring out what she felt for him. That's when she realized she had the power to turn him away, or tell him not to go out on his date.

At that point, Alex understood that her feelings for him went beyond what she had been willing to admit to herself. She didn't want him with anyone else, but she had no right to tell him that. She couldn't give herself to him completely; their jobs wouldn't allow that. And to keep him in limbo, to give into temptation every so often, then pretend that he meant nothing to her, was just cruel. She imagined herself as a carrot dangling on the end of a stick, always just out of reach.

"Go on your date, Bobby." She knew her words sounded to hollow, she was hoping he believed her.

"You don't mean that, I know you don't."

_Shit. He knows I'm bluffing._

"I can't keep doing this to you."

"You think I can't handle this? Handle you?" His words were tinged with anger, "I can handle you and what we're doing just fine."

Quickly, he lifted her up onto the counter. Without thinking, she opened her legs and his hips came to rest against hers. His hands were rubbing her bare thighs. It was then that she realized she was only in a t-shirt, nothing else. She could feel the bulge in his jeans grow larger against her center, and when his hands rode up and he discovered she wasn't wearing panties he groaned so loudly it startled her.

"Shit, Alex…you do know how to unravel me, though." He was sucking on her neck, certain he was leaving a mark and secretly hoping he was. In the back of his mind, he was wondering if she had a date, too. And if she did, he wanted to make sure whoever it was saw evidence of him on her.

She felt one hand leave her leg, then she heard his jeans unzip. She moved her hands from the counter to his waistband and began to help him. He was still attached to her neck, and now she was leaning forward leaving small bites on his shoulder.

"What about you, Alex?" He sounded a little angry again.

"What?" She couldn't focus.

"You must have a date."

"I do." She hoped he didn't think she was lying.

Even though he was worried about it, he wasn't expecting her to say that. He felt a rush of panic overcome him. _I can't lose her_. Before she had a chance to catch what he was about to do, he crashed his lips against hers and thrust himself inside of her. Then he slammed into her over and over, grunting each time he became fully sheathed. She wasn't sure if his actions were based on him trying to prove his desire, or if they were an attempt to somehow claim her for himself.

Suddenly she realized something, "Bobby!"

He froze. They were both panting heavily.

"Shit!" He slid out of her then reached down and grabbed a condom out of his pants pocket. He didn't say another word as he quickly put it on then entered her again.

Leaning himself against her he moved his mouth to her ear, "Oh, God…I'm so sorry, Alex. I didn't think for a second there."

"It's okay, it's okay," she frantically stripped his sweater and t-shirt off of him, "it's good now."

He pulled her shirt over her head then moved his hands down to play with her breasts and nipples. He was slowly moving in and out of her, but then he stopped as he spoke.

"I'm not going to go out with her." As he said that he was looking at her, trying to gauge her response. Alex heard the word, 'her', and it knocked the wind out of her. _There should be no __her_, she thought.

All of her ambivalence left her. Even though she tried to talk herself into ending this, she couldn't. Alex decided right then and there that they had to somehow keep this going. Somehow it had to work because no one had ever made her feel like she did right then and, wrong or right, she didn't want to let it go. She reasoned that as much as she knew it could hurt him to continue what they were doing, he would be equally hurt by her denying him. She gave into to her heart and before she knew it she was answering him.

"Bobby, listen. You know what I think, I think you should go out on your date. You live your life, I'll live mine... but if we can steal moments like this with each other every once in a while, all the better. And one day, if one of us meets the right person, we let this go…we walk away. But until then, I really don't want stop this if we don't have to."

All he could do was nod at her; he was at a total loss for words. He didn't expect her to come right out and say all of that. It's not exactly what he wanted, what he really wanted was all of her, but he knew that this was all he was going to get right then. Then she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him. They shared a very passionate kiss, one filled with a promise of more nights to come. He picked up his pace again, now increasing the intensity.

"So, you're gonna go out on your date, too?" He still didn't like the idea of that but knew he had no choice.

"Yeah."

"Who's it with?"

"You don't know him."

"Do me a favor, Alex," as he said that, he moved his hand to her clit and her legs weakened. His thrusts were powerful.

"Oh, God… what is it, Bobby." She knew it wasn't going to take him long to get her to orgasm. She desperately wanted him.

He waited until he felt her climax before he finished his thought, "think of me and how you feel right now when you're out with him." He watched her and felt her as her orgasm began to wash over her, then he thrust into her and felt his own take over.

--

When they came back to themselves, he picked her up and carried her to her bedroom. Laying her down on the bed, he kissed her then she whispered in his ear, "Stay."

"I can't." he said the words as quickly as he could so he didn't chicken out, "it just wouldn't be fair to either of us."

She hesitated then nodded her head. _Talk about a change of roles. I can't believe I just asked him that and he said no. He's right, though_.

He stood up to leave but then sat back down and ran his hand over one of her breasts, "but…I do have another condom." He grinned at her and she grinned back.

They made love again before he left for good that night.

--

The End.

--

**Until next time…cifan.**


End file.
